He has never regretted his job before, it was something he could take pride in because it was something he was good at. Then she walks into his life. Before he can even think, he does the one thing he never thought he'd ever do...he lies.

Sitting up at her laptop, typing away, Elizabeth wonders how long Port Charles will agree with her. Till this day, she still has no clue why Charlotte had appealed to her so much and there's no telling how long Port Charles will hold her interest. A day. A week. A month...possibly the rest of her life?

Glancing over at Jason, a small smile touches her lips, remembering exactly why she was in Port Charles to begin with. Jason. No matter how long she stares at him, no matter how long they talk, she has yet to even come close to getting enough of him. Every word that comes out of his mouth, every gesture he makes, Jason makes her fall for him harder and faster than she ever thought possible.

The sound of her phone buzzing breaks through the silence, causing her to snatch it up before the buzzing woke Jason. Strange how loud a cell phone's vibration can be when the world around the item is so silent. Smiling slightly, she shakes her head. Just Zander letting her know he was a few hours out.

"Good to know." she types back, laughing softly before waiting for a reply. "What?"

Covering her mouth, glancing at a still sleeping Jason, she breathes a sigh of relief before typing back to Zander. How dare he say that she's a loner in the small town? Okay...maybe it wasn't such a far stretch, but still. Telling him to concentrate on getting to town, she shuts off her cell phone and plugs it in. She's had enough of Zander's sense of humor for one night.

"I'm glad you decided to come with me." Jason whispers in her ear as they sit with their arms around each other on the couch. "I had my doubts about asking you..."

"I had my doubts about agreeing." she admits, nestling into his chest. "But...I'm glad I decided to come, too."

"Where do you think you'd be if you said no?" he finds himself asking her, needing to know for some reason.

"Not sure." she shrugs her shoulders, trying to think of the most honest reply. "I would think that I'd be halfway to the Canadian or Mexican border...maybe even on a flight to Madagascar."

"Madagascar, huh?"

"Why not?" she laughs softly, stroking his hands with her thumbs. "There are a few places I'd love to paint there. I have just about enough to get me there."

"Still thinking about leaving?"

"Is that what your question is about?" she counters, turning around to face him. "You're worried I'm just gonna disappear into the wind? Leave no trace of ever being in your life...of ever really existing in your world?"

"The thought has crossed my mind."

"You're not the only one." Elizabeth whispers, leaning in to touch her lips to his, both their eyes sliding shut for a brief moment. "I fear the day will come that you'll realize I'm not all you think I am...and then you'll be gone."

"That won't happen."

"You don't know that." she says simply. "Being with you, Jason...its the closest I've ever come to feeling like I belong. Like I've found my home. If one of us is going to walk away, trust me, it'll be you."

"Before you, my life centered around my job, my friends, and random girls at Jake's." he sadly admits. "And that was okay because I never knew it could be any different. Not for someone like me."

"If not for you then who?" she counters, smiling slightly.

"I'm being serious." he says in a hushed tone, staring into her eyes. "The doctors told me that I was incapable of love...that I lost it to my brain damage. They said I couldn't learn to love because that part of my brain was gone and you can't regrow brain cells."

"Those doctors are idiots."

"I believed them for a while...until I met you." he smiled slightly. "You bring out parts of me that I didn't know existed. You make me think of stuff I never even cared to think of before...my life, my dreams, my future...you give me so much without expecting anything in return. Which makes me want to give you the world, that much more. Trust me when I say this, Elizabeth...I'm not going anywhere."

Shutting her laptop, she pushes it to the side, lifting Jason's arm to retake the position that she had just been in before her over active mind had her logging into her laptop. She didn't think they had anymore next levels to reach just yet, but even she knows that she and Jason reached another level tonight. The more time she spends with him, Elizabeth is certain that she's not going to ever want to leave. And that's starting to look less and less frightening by the day.

"Keep it down." Elizabeth yanks Zander into the cabin. "Jason's still sleeping."

"And they say I'm a late riser."

"Remind me, again, why I agreed to this." she counters, shutting the front door. "You could've stopped at an outer town to crash for the night."

"Then I wouldn't be here to take a look around before the rest of the town woke up." Zander defends, following her into the kitchen for coffee. "The place ain't half that bad."

"Glad you're taking a liking to it." she concedes, sitting down with her cup of tea. "Its not Charlotte, but its been good to me, so far."

"And I'm here to make sure it stays that way." Zander downs the remaining of his coffee. "For however long you stay infatuated with the add on, that is."

"Shut up. You know what..." she shakes her head, pulling him up from the chair. "Port Charles is a big enough town...why don't you do some more sight seeing, huh?"

"No need to get so defensive."

"Goodbye, Zander."

"Fine, I'm going." he concedes, following her back out into the living room. "But don't leave without calling me."

"Yes, father." she smirks slightly, pulling open the door. "Now get out."

"Good." he looks at her for a long moment before adding, "If he makes you as happy as you seem...I'm glad your paths crossed. You're the closest thing to a sister I've got, so...you know."

"I love you, too, Zander." she assures, knowing that's what he was trying to say. "I'll call you later."

"Kay."

Walking aimlessly around town, getting a feeling for every street corner and building he passes, Zander realizes just how hard its gonna be to actually guard her in this place. Shaking his head at the challenge that lays ahead for him, Zander spots a small diner that looked to be open. No sense on going around on an empty stomach.

"Whoa, excuse me." a beautiful girl looks at him with such deep intense eyes. "I didn't see you."

"Its okay." Zander shakes his head. "My fault, really."

"As much as I'd love to agree with that, it really was my fault." she shakes her head. "Why don't you let me buy you a cup of coffee?"

"Why don't I buy you a cup of coffee and we can call this even?" he counters, holding out his hand. "I'm Zander."

"Emily." she replies in a soft tone, smiling slightly when he holds open the door for her. "And here I thought chivalry was dead."

"You just haven't met the right people." he smirks slightly, gesturing for her to go in. "Shall we?"

"Definitely."

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